About us:

The Owner:

Frank Froncillo is a journeyman tool and die maker who has worked in the tool and die industry for 30+ years. After finishing his apprenticeship in Pennsylvania, he went on to form Spark Tool and Lightning Plastics, which he operated for 18 years.

Spark Tool and Lightning Plastics were responsible for the product design and production of "RoadSpike", which is used by law enforcement to flatten tires in high speed pursuits.

After closing his shop in 2001, Frank went on to work for Agie Charmilles as an Applications Engineer, training new and veteran operators, and troubleshooting special Wire EDM projects.

After three years in applications, Frank went on to become Regional Manager for the Western US, managing the Agie sales force in 12 states.

In January 2007, Frank and a partner, Dr. Michael Sandlin, founded Arizona Rapidcut, LLC, and utilized eight Agie Progress Wire machines in a “captive production setting”, operating 24/7 for three years producing sputtering targets for the hard drive industry.

In early 2010, AZRC's operations ceased due to their primary customer transferring the majority of production overseas.

A drive for excellence, and a constant eagerness to embrace new technologies has been Frank's lifelong passion.

WIRE EDM

Wire EDM is one of the best kept secrets in the world of manufacturing. When you ask most toolmakers how they apply this technology in the production of molds and dies they most likely will respond that the machine tool cuts insert pockets in core and cavity details, may finish core pin and ejector pin holes, and possibly slice off inserts that have been ground, as well as die openings and punches. Although these are all valid applications for this technology, this is only a small part of what these machine systems can do for a manufacturer.

A high quality Wire EDM offers many of the capabilities of other types of manufacturing, such as milling, profile grinding, surface grinding, and jig grinding, with less dollar per hour operational cost and a much higher manufacturing to labor dollar ratio.

The key to realizing this potential is to have a system solution approach to the Wire EDM process. We use AGIE Progress EDM's with features like automatic wire threading, submerged cutting, automatic process controls, wire choppers, in-process probing of work pieces, and true PC based CNC controls. With this system, capable of complete off-line operation through either a dial up modem or an ethernet connection, we have raised the level of performance of the Wire EDM process.

The key to successfully using a Wire EDM system in a production environment is to have a machine that is not only versatile, but that is also capable of running for long periods of time unattended, with a minimum of machine maintenance, and the lowest possible dollar per hour operating cost.

We employ the use of "Contact Manager" which allows remote viewing and complete control of the EDM process anywhere that has an internet connection. This allows operators to check on progress, make changes on the fly, set priorities between cuts, and even switch between projects cutting on the machine's worktable.

Need a part rushed? No problem! We can suspend a project... switch to another, and when finished; go back to the original part with just a few simple mouse clicks!